{ i am thankful }

Recently someone very dear to me became ill. While this man is not my {father}, he is someone I have called {dad} my entire life.

Two weeks ago he was diagnosed with Stage IV Advanced Prostate Cancer. The treatment was immediate, and so were the consequences. A rare and very serious side effect left us racing for the emergency room within hours of the injection. A three hour long operation to remove a large tumor that had ruptured in his brain, as a result of the treatment ensued. It has been a long and scary process.

Here it is two weeks later. He is recovering, but certainly not himself. He will come home the survivor of a brain operation, but his cancer will remain. I have given up hours upon hours of each day to keep his company...I have postponed appointments, and work continues to stack up on my desk. I have delegated most of my chores to my kind and ever helpful husband and children and learned that staying up way too late and getting up way too early are habits that can indeed be learned.

Some days I have been irritable that this devastation has fallen in my lap. This man has two biological children who could take the time to come here to be with him. Help him. Comfort him. Some days I am strong and carry my burden with shoulders high - yet another gift to God. The gift of caring. The gift of sacrifice. Some days I cry. I am tired, I am mad and I miss my family...but most days I am {THANKFUL}.

I am thankful for the gift of life. I am thankful for the gift of health. I am thankful that I have two men in my life that I can call {dad}...I am thankful that I have a supportive and adoring husband and responsible and caring children...and I am thankful for the gift of {REAL FRIENDSHIP}.

Right before this calamity struck, I was the honored recipient of many gracious gifts...


One woman I call friend blessed me with a rare and wonderful retreat...the chance to forgive myself and the world around me...the chance to be with people I love in a beautiful place. She continues to uplift me and remind me that I matter...that LIFE will not get the best of me. For that and for her { I AM THANKFUL}. {i love you Lorraine}

One woman I call friend has done one kind thing after another for me...little treats that I should and can not do for myself. Every day things that make me smile. She is supportive and encouraging..and makes me believe I am worthy...and she is kind and patient in waiting for what is hers...for these things and for her { I AM THANKFUL}. {i love you Sandi}

One woman I call friend continues to check up on me...calls and texts and cards in the mail. She makes me smile and always thinks of me and my wildly crazy life. She is always pointing out my sweet and wonderful children and their accomplishments, applauding their growth and mine...for these things and for her {I AM THANKFUL}. {i love you Barbara}

One woman I call friend thinks of me out of the blue. {Little Birdies} tell her things and then I find sweet goodies in the mail. She knows what is precious to me...and why...For this I and for her { I AM THANKFUL}.  
{i love you Cathy}

One woman I call friend, I have yet to meet. I talk to her via email and we have discovered a great kinship. She, too, thought of me recently and mailed me something most beautiful handmade necklace. She is amazingly talented and I will treasure her gift always. I look forward to the day when we shall meet. For this and for her {I AM THANKFUL}.
{i love you Gretchen}

One woman I call friend, I feel like I have known forever, and yet she and I have not met either...messenger of {angelic}thoughts. She sends me a kind word, a supportive thought, a cheery note, a surprise gift...and always a surprise it is. She has a calming beauty radiating from her words. She makes me smile. For these things and for her {I AM THANKFUL}. {i love you petite michelle}

One woman I call friend has been here for me through thick and thin. She sees the good the bad and the ugly in me and still she remains true. She calls, she listens, and yet she calls again. She is brutally honest and deeply sincere. She loves me no matter what and has made a great effort to comfort me these days. For these things and for her { I AM THANKFUL}.  
{i love you Connie}


I love these woman. Each and every one of them. With all of my heart and soul...and while I love their goodies and treats to pieces, it is {THEM} that mean the world to me. I think of each of them daily and can not bear for them to think that I do not. I am crazy and I am busy and and I am hectic, and so I have been remiss in my etiquette. There has been no time for thank you notes...less time for calls...an abbreviated text message at best...{BUT THEY ARE WORTH MORE} and I need them to know this. {THESE WONDERFUL WOMEN} are who I have admitted into my life, my soul, with a smile. I am so very {THANKFUL|} for each of them.

So here is your {THANK YOU}. 

 {merci}

My little handmade card that expresses my overflowing thanks.
No matter what comes my way in life, I LOVE YOU.

{there is no medicine like laughter...and a healthy dose of friendship}

You might remember that recently I vowed to {LIVE} a great deal more and  {BLOG} a great deal less. I have been faithful to this self made promise and I have reaped the rewards. 

To have a few {GREAT FRIENDS} is to be considered fortunate. 

To be able to leave the door open to your {SOUL} when you are in their company is a {BLESSING.}

I know this good fortune.

I am this blessed.

I, once again, found myself in the company of not one, not two, but {FOUR} cherished friends last weekend.

I was, once again, {LOVED & UPLIFTED}.

I was, once again, {TREATED WITH KINDNESS & UNDERSTANDING}.

 I was, once again, {RESPECTED & LISTENED TOO}.

I was, once again, {RESTORED}.

{AND WE CREATED}

I consider myself to be {BEHOLDEN UNTO GOD} for the gift of these women I call {FRIENDS}.

I am blessed beyond measure.

I am loved without condition.

Each woman brought to the table a gift fit for a king.

One brings a gift for creating beauty. A beauty that shines. A beauty that makes the others smile. Creations that bring joy and inspiration world wide.

One brings the gift of compassion. A deep and real love for mankind. A gift for seeing the good in everyone, everything. An ability to make one feel worthy...even when we feel we are not.

One brings the gift of insight. A knack for seeing and knowing who we are, even when we doubt ourselves. A gift of direct and unwavering love. A keen sense worth. She is a steady pipeline that connects us all to one another.

One brings the gift of optimism and laughter. A bounty of charitable thoughts and ideas. A superior mind filled with creative & loving ideas. An all encompassing spirit of good and possibility. 

And when I sat across the table from these women and their gifts I realized something.

While each woman might have placed their own sweet boon on the table, their one ingredient ready to be added to this wondrous and rare recipe of kindred friendship, their was something else...

...I looked around and  I realized that each one of these extraordinary women had taken on the

collective gifts of the others. 

When at first I thought a single woman brought creative beauty to the table -  I now realized that each woman had brought the gift of creative beauty, but in her own dynamic way. The same for compassion and insight and optimism.

These women were indeed kindred spirits ... and I was among them. 

Uplifted and strong. 

 Dedicated and devoted. 

I was the fortunate one; adding to the pot, my own strength of creative beauty. My own cup of compassion. My own pinch of insight. My own dash of optimism.

And in the end? When the weekend was over and the time came, once again, to part ?

Well it was bittersweet. Like any great meal, I left feeling satisfied.

Full, yet hesitant to leave the table.

Sad that our time together was to be suspended....{FOR NOW}.

And so I have the next gathering to look forward too.

My appetite will grow in the interim and I will be ready to partake in the banquet of

love and laughter and creative inspiration. 

I will come to the table hungry with expectation...

...ready to feast on the joys of {REAL FRIENDSHIP}.

God is so good to feed my {SOUL} in such a way.

I am so very {BLESSED}.

I {LOVE} you all.

{friendship, art and deep belly laughs}

REAL friendship . A gift so rare that those in possession of such a thing cling to it with a fierceness likened to that of a Mother to her child.

I have been blessed with such friendships. A tiny gathering of hearts that uplift me. Support me. Love me. 

My time within this circle of companionship leaves me feeling restored, fulfilled, strengthened. I can be my whole self. Good and bad. I will not be judged, only comforted. I will not be chastened, only emboldened...

...and so it is an even rarer treat to get time to CREATE with these women.  Most recently, 72 hours of connected occasion. Stories, {some with tears}. Creations. Plans and promises. Laughter. Not just the proverbial "catching up", but a kinship. A bond strong enough to shun even sleep for fear of losing just one moment of time spent together...

...These are special, special  women. They listen. They cheer me. They listen some more. They steel me. They do not disregard my dreams for rambling wishes. They ignite a desire in me to grab the reins and move forward...not at a trot, but a full gallop. They are along for the ride. The long haul. When I look to my left, to my right, they are there. The wind whipping through their hair, as it is through mine...because we are charging ahead. Full steam. Together.

And at the end of the day? They make MORE TIME STILL.

We pass around the art, swaying with fatigue, and sing each others' praises.

Cohorts in creativity - they raise my spirits, elevate my heart and induce in me, soul reviving deep belly laughs. They COMPLETE ME.

{ you ALL know who you are...and i love each and every one of you.}